Using graphics on social media helps to increase engagement with your followers and increases your conversion. Why? Using images on your social media sites allows you to connect with your followers on an emotional level and draw their attention. You don’t need to be a graphic designer to create eye-catching and captivating graphics (I’m not). Instead, use this easy checklist to ensure you’re making the most of your online content.

If you create a standard look with consistent font and style to the image, you’ll help people to connect your image style with your brand. You may even develop a theme to the type of content you share. They could be: positive or inspirational quotes, valuable tips, questions, or photos on your area of expertise (food, fashion, fitness, hobbies, hair, cars, etc.).

2. Create a photo collage (when appropriate)

If you have ‘before and after’ images or want to showcase multiple images in one, you could create a collage. Collaging is really for specific use cases and you can skip this tip if you don’t want to put extra time into your images. If you do choose to collage photos, here are some best practices to help you create engaging collage photos. Collaging images together does require a bit more design effort to do it well and keep it focused, but there are some great online tools that make it easy. Most of the online tools have a free version and you can usually upgrade for more features for a low monthly fee.

3. Always include your URL

It is always a good idea to include your URL at the bottom of your image, your own personal watermark. You want your followers to know how to find you and it is a simple way to keep them engaged with your brand. You can also include your logo on the image in order to make your brand more memorable. In addition, if someone shares your post, their followers know where the tip or quote came from. This helps to increase your presence on social media. Simply add another text box for your URL in a smaller and less prominent yet readable font. If it’s too large, it may come across as promotional instead of more like a watermark to identify your brand.

4. Make sure the text is extremely readable

This is the most important graphic design tip: Ensure that your following can clearly understand your message. Ensure the words show up clearly. Don’t put them on top of a busy part of an image. Choose fonts that are easy to read and ensure that your words are not too big or too small. It is also a good idea to pay attention to spacing, you can space your letters out to help emphasize certain words in your message. Paragraph spacing can also be used to make your design more balanced and readable.

5. Add shapes to support text readability

If you add a shape over a portion of your image, and then add your text onto the shape, you then have another great way to focus your message and make it stand out. Color the shape with complimentary colors to the background image (or to your brand style). This will help your message stand out from the main image. When adding shapes try using the transparency feature as shown in the video. This will let part of the main image show through while bringing the text into focus.

6. Using backgrounds

If you have a photo you love and want it as a background, you may have to do some adjustments. Using some free online tools can help, some of these tools have free photo templates and you can also upload some of your own photos. There are features available that allow you to fade the image in the background and overlay shapes to focus on the message you are sending.

Easy Tool To Create Images

I often use Canva to create great graphics for my social media posts. Canva has a free version and is easy to use, see this video below for a demonstration of some of the tips above. Using online tools for creating graphics will easily help to bring your images to another level.